In the medical and health examinations, the blood is generally tested. For performing the blood test, a small but certain amount of blood is required. Generally, the blood is taken by an expert such as a medical doctor or a nurse through vein. In some cases, several drops of blood are taken by slightly injuring a finger tip or an earlobe.
As means for testing the blood in clinical tests, there are known multi-layered analytical elements which contain chemical reagents, biochemical reagents, or immunological reagents. In the clinical tests using the multi-layered analytical elements (possibly, in the form of an analytical slide), a small but predetermined amount of the blood should be spotted onto the analytical element for causing a color development in the element. The developed color is then measured at a predetermined wavelength to quantitatively determine the analyte in the blood.
The procedure for collecting the blood is also performed by a patient per se, for checking blood sugar level or cholesterol level by himself. Particularly, in the case of diabetic, the blood sugar level ought to be checked frequently (for instance, several times a day), though each check procedure requires only a small amount of the blood. Generally, the blood is taken at a finger tip, because a great number of blood vessels are gathered at the finger tip. However, the blood collection at the finger tip sometimes causes acute pain, because a great number of nerves are also gathered at the finger tip. The blood collection at the finger tip is also sometimes troublesome, because the finger tip is frequently used for daily works. For these reasons, the blood collection at other portions is sometimes required.
Therefore, it is required to provide a blood collecting and spotting means which is employable for taking a small amount of blood and spotting a predetermined amount of blood onto an analytical means with little pain and no complicated procedures.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 62-38140, No. H-1-185245, and No. H-5-95938 describe means for collecting a small amount of blood from a human body with simple operation. These means, however, are not designed for spotting a predetermined amount of the collected blood sample onto an analytical means.